As of 11/05/2025 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (Conventional loans) just dropped their minimum score requirement.

Here's a link to the source (Fannie Mae's Selling Guide)

The minimums are lower than you think. This is agency guidelines. Each individual lender may have a threshold above the listed minimums below:

  • 500 for FHA loans
    • anything below 580 needs 10%+ down payment

  • Conventional options with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac just dropped their minimum credit score requirement. It doesn't mean individual lenders have dropped their requirements. (Lenders have 'overlays' that are 'rules on top of rules')

  • No minimum for VA and USDA but individual lenders have their preferences

This isn't an invitation to wreck your credit score because "the lender doesn't care"...

You get better rates and costs when you have a higher credit score.

Your loan will have an easier time passing 'Automated underwriting' when you have a high score. The score reflects a lot of things, but on-time payments is a big part of that. If you're paying late on loans, you'll have a harder time getting approved.

If you get denied while having above the minimum, the loan officer won't be able to say "your credit is too low" but should say more specific things like "underwriting denied it because of the recent late payments on your credit report"

No credit can sometimes be better than bad credit. It's possible to get a mortgage without traditional credit. If that's the case for you, check out this post. (reddit post)

Even if your score is above the minimum, it doesn't guarantee that you'll get a loan.

If you're running into a roadblock, you may need a mortgage broker who can use a manual underwriting option.

If you need help with ideas on how to qualify for a mortgage with a low score, check out this post. (reddit post)

That's it for now, I hope this helps!